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Orly Caspi
Orly Caspi testified before the California Senate on how trade negotiations could affect coastal energy facilities in 2006.
A policy lawyer crafts a new role for each project or client.
 
The role of policy lawyer is less scripted by rules of procedure than more traditional roles.  A policy lawyer crafts a new role for each project rather than take up the same role as would a courtroom litigator.  One client might ask you to draft a bill to amend existing law; the next might ask you to develop a strategy to create a new insurance system.

Our students develop their roles as part of a team – either trade or health – that reflects modern practice.  We must specialize to meet our clients’ needs.  But the skill set our students employ is common to both teams and to any government, corporate or nonprofit setting in which our students will practice.

Our educational goal is to enable our students to draw from core skill sets in order to adapt their policy role to any project or setting.  We organize our curriculum, supervision methods and evaluation criteria around these three skill sets, for which our students earn 14 credits over the course of two semesters:

 
  • Planning & accountability
 4 credits
 
  • Research & analysis
 5 credits
 
  • Communication
 5 credits

Planning & accountability

Whose needs does a policy serve?  Rarely is there a single public interest, and frequently, policy-making is a contest among many conflicting interests. Often, a policy lawyer is accountable to multiple clients or broader constituencies.  Usually, there are multiple policy choices in play that make choices difficult.  Our students learn to:

  • Manage supervision meetings.
  • Plan work for strategic outcomes.
  • Manage effort and deadlines.
  • Define and fill their role in groups.

Research & analysis

What problem are you solving?  How many ways are there to solve it?  Who has the legal authority?  How do you reach your conclusions?  To analyze in a way that empowers our clients to act, our students learn to:

  • Identify legal and policy questions.
  • Learn the legal and policy context efficiently.
  • Use diverse sources to avoid bias.
  • Explain analytic methodology.
  • Use a logical framework.
  • Draw conclusions or options that meet client needs.

Communication

Who is your audience?  What do they need to learn about the problem or their legal options?  How will they use your analysis to make decisions?  To communicate in a way that empowers our clients to act, our students learn to:

  • Organize documents and presentations logically.
  • Meet audience needs for context in the introduction.
  • Relate the analysis to audience needs.
  • Use appropriate language in terms of tone, objectivity and jargon.
  • Conclude actively to support client decision-making.

August 25, 2006 (RS)